The U.S. dollar fell today against major currencies, especially against the Euro, where investors were hopeful European policymakers will be able to control the political and debt crisis in Portugal after the Portuguese Prime Minister resigned due to his failure to pass an austerity plan at the Parliament.
Meanwhile, data from the United States was somewhat disappointing, especially the durable goods orders which fell below expectations, while jobless claims came in line with expectations.
Moreover, the demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa regions continue to dominate headlines, where oil prices continued to rise today, while gold prices rose to a record high above $1447 an ounce, as investors sought safety.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies including the Euro, the Pound, and the Yen, declined on daily basis to trade at 75.62, compared with the opening level at 75.98, while recording a high of 76.04 and a low of 75.46. Gold prices rose to trade at $1439.20 an ounce, compared with the opening at $1437.72, while crude oil prices also rose to trade at $105.89 a barrel, compared with $105.46 a barrel.
The Euro rose against the U.S. dollar today, where the EUR-USD pair is now trading at $1.4176, compared with the opening level at $1.4104, while recording a high of $1.4219 and a low of $1.4053. The pair is now trading above the $1.4075 support level, and so long it continues to trade above this level, we should expect it to target the resistance at $1.4280; however, breaching the support at $1.4075 would send the pair to the support at $1.3940.
The British Pound declined against the U.S. dollar after retail sales dropped below expectations in the U.K., where the GBP-USD pair is now trading at $1.6098, compared with the opening level at $1.6247, while recording a high of $1.6267 and a low of $1.6092. The pair is trading below the resistance level at $1.6105 and the target is set at the support at $1.6040 level.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Japanese Yen today, where the USD-JPY pair is now trading at ¥80.94, compared with the opening level at ¥80.87, while recording a high of ¥81.05 and a low of ¥80.76. The pair continues to trade below the resistance at ¥91.15 and so long it continues to trade below this level, the target will be the ¥79.80 support, however, breaching the resistance at ¥81.15 to the upside would send the pair to the ¥81.80 resistance level.